Did a change in Nyayo Stadium design favour Leopards against Gor?

Forty-five league matches pitting rivals AFC Leopards and Gor Mahia have been held at Nyayo National Stadium. No other venue has hosted more league matches between the two clubs.

The first Mashemeji Derby at Nyayo Stadium was held on June 17, 1984.

However, it would not be surprising if Gor Mahia secretly wish the fixture returns to City Stadium or Moi International Sports Centre, where they have a better record against AFC Leopards. Alternatively, Gor Mahia may harbour a desire for Nyayo to be restored to its previous design.

Gor Mahia were on course to end AFC Leopards’ supremacy at Nyayo until the venue was closed for renovations in September 2017, before being reopened in late 2022.

Since then, Gor Mahia have faced AFC Leopards at Nyayo five times — three of those encounters as the host team — and managed to win just once. The other results have been two draws and two losses for K’Ogalo.

Gor Mahia were unbeaten in the last five Mashemeji derby league matches played at Nyayo before its refurbishment, winning thrice and drawing twice. After Sunday’s 1-0 loss, their overall record at the venue in league matches against AFC Leopards now reads 13 wins, 15 losses, and 17 draws.

Improved at expense of Gor Mahia fans

Nyayo Stadium’s new design may have improved the experience of AFC Leopards fans at the venue at the expense of Gor Mahia fans. Unlike before, the tunnel from where the players step out is now located to the left of the main stand — in the area between Gate 8 and Gate 10. Previously, they were located at the main stand.

Traditionally, AFC Leopards fans sit to the left of the main stand at Nyayo, meaning they now completely occupy the section surrounding the players’ tunnel. Also, the players walk closer to them when they enter the pitch. Hence, Nyayo’s new design has given them control of the stadium’s atmosphere at key moments of the match – when players enter and leave the pitch.

To their players, that is a massive psychological boost. To the players of their rivals, that means staring into the distance in search of friendly faces.

Victor Milimu, a member of Ultras 1964, an AFC Leopards fan group, conceded that Nyayo’s new design now helps “Ingwe” fans strike more fear in their opponents’ players when they set foot in the stadium.

“By the time rival players enter the pitch, we have already weakened them psychologically. We make sure they suffer during their long walk to the pitch,” Milimu told Nation Sport.

Yet, Milimu was quick to add that even before the stadium was redesigned, AFC Leopards had long established a reputation for dominating Mashemeji Derby matches played at Nyayo.

'We just played badly' 

Gor Mahia chairman Ambrose Rachier revealed they mulled moving Sunday’s match to Kasarani after learning that the military was using Nyayo for Jamhuri Day rehearsals. 

“We decided against changing the venue because it was too late to do so...we did not want to inconvenience fans,” he said after intimating that it was the Football Kenya Federation that had initially scheduled the match to be played at Nyayo.

“However, I cannot attribute the loss to the stadium’s design. We just played badly. I am yet to have a meeting with the coach and the team to know why we lost,” he added.

James Kinyanjui, the AFC Leopards winger who made his Mashemeji Derby debut on Sunday, described the atmosphere and the reception from AFC Leopards fans when he entered the stadium as “something I have never seen before.”

“I stepped on the pitch and I felt no fear at all,” Kinyanjui, who entered the stadium smiling and pointing his fingers to the sky, said. 

“I enjoyed that feeling.” 

Tom Bwana, a dyed-in-the-wool Gor Mahia fan, was quick to dismiss the notion that Nyayo’s new design disadvantages Gor Mahia and its fans during the derby. 

“A Gor Mahia player should never have an excuse for losing in the derby,” he declared. 

“If anything, I am happy with the new design because it prepares our players not to be fazed by hostile atmospheres when the team plays in CAF competitions.”

Follow our WhatsApp channel for breaking news updates and more stories like this.